In recent years, there has been significant interest in the production of organic chemicals, such as ethanol, from fermentable sugars that are derived from cellulosic biomass. Useful cellulosic biomass includes, for example, corncobs, cornstover (e.g., stalks and leaves), switchgrass, wood chips, and other plant matter.
In order to facilitate the storage and transportation (e.g., to a cellulosic ethanol plant) of cellulosic biomass, the biomass is harvested from the field and is then formed into bales. Common bale configurations include “square bales” (e.g., a bale in the form of a rectangular cube typically measuring about 3′×4′×8′) and “round bales” (e.g., a bale in the form of a right circular cylinder typically measuring about 6′ in diameter and 5′ in length). To provide structural integrity for storage and handling, the bales are often tied with wrapping material such as twine, which is more typical for square bales, or are wrapped with a net wrap or open weave material, which is more typical for round bales.
Once at the cellulosic processing plant, the twine or net wrap must be removed from the bale so that the biomass can by fed into the organic chemical production process. Since a typical cellulosic processing plant may process a large number of bales per day, an automated device for the removal of twine and net wrap from bales is very desirable. In addition, since the incoming bales to the cellulosic processing plant may consist of both square bales and round bales of varying sizes, it is additionally desirable for a single device to be configured to remove twine and/or net wrap from square bales and/or round bales of varying sizes with minimal manual input.